Politics in Lasterus
The '''Republic of Lasterus '''has a constitutional representative democracy with a President serving as head of state and a Prime Minister serving as head of government. The country has a single unicameral legislature, referred to as the Parliament, a term that they share with a number of constitutional monarchies around the world despite having abolished the monarchy in 1720. Members of Parliament (MPs) represent 146 individual districts across the country. While Lasterus has a total of over twenty-seven registered parties, only five have representatives in Congress. Of these, the largest are the Conservative Party (currently with a 64-member plurality), often colloquially called the "Touns" or "Tounies" due to their historical affiliation with Tounism; the Liberal Democrats (currently with 57 MPs), and the Labor Party (with 21 MPs); the Qotian Popular Party (''Partída Qotida Populár, ''PQP), with 3 MPs from Deine and Alburra; and the Chicor National Democrats (CND), which a single MP from Chicor. Due to the lack of a majority party since 2007, the government has been formed by coalitions, currently between the Liberal Democrats and Labor, frequently known as the "Pink Coalition" because of the two party's colors (white and red) and their strong alliance since the 1970s, during which time despite ideological differences they have been united in their opposition to the powerful Conservative Party. The current Prime Minister is Lib-Dem Yoni David, with Beatrice Chandler as leader of the opposition; the president, meanwhile, is the moderate Touny Bill Pressley. Politically, the Conservative party emerged as a monarchist faction in the eighteenth century, and have for nearly all of their existence found strength in rural areas and among the less-educated; while they eventually (mostly) abandoned monarchism, they continue to advocate socially conservative principles. While they supported some government intervention in the economy and a limited welfare state in the early twentieth century, around 1960 they reversed their economic position and became a strongly pro-capitalist, free-market party, defining the Lasterian Right as primarily socially conservative and economically libertarian. Many but not all of their members are opposed to immigration, and many Touny MPs have been accused by those on the Left of working with or being racists or sexists; until 1976, the Tounies officially supported the White Lasterus immigration policy, and they continue to oppose same-sex marriage and abortion. The Liberal Democrats, meanwhile, emerged as a pro-business and anti-monarchy party and have gradually become primarily characterized by social liberalism, supporting socially liberal policies such as same-sex marriage, gender equality, and increased immigration alongside a relatively free market and a limited welfare state; they are primarily identified with the center or center-left. The Labor Party, coming out of a tradition of socialism, is a left-wing party that largely supports both socially liberal policies and an extremely strong welfare state combined with highly progressive taxes and, increasingly, radical action related to climate change; some but not all Labor MPs also support working toward the gradual abolition of capitalism and the market economy to be replaced with Democratic Socialism, although the party's manifesto explicitly disavows violent revolution and authoritarian socialism.